in-joke
2
8.7
- noun
- /ɪnˈdʒoʊk/
- Informal
:
broma interna
- Her stories were filled with in-jokes from their college days that only her friends appreciated.
- laugh at in-jokes
Examples
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During the meeting, they exchanged in-jokes that made the new members feel left out.
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But without his loyal and equally geeky best friend by his side, Hiro has no one to spout Star Trek and X-Men in-jokes to.
Blog text (3) -
And immediately I thought that you and your wife must have some sort of in-jokes about your patients.
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Everything was an in-joke in the first year of love.
Fiction book (2002) -
What is that, some kind of family in-joke?
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When I arrived, I was very familiar with all the personalities and in-jokes.
Blog text (13) -
That's an in-joke, you know.
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Students who did not attend the trips often report finding the constant sharing of trip in-jokes to be off-putting.
Academic text (2014) -
It is the students who have made Sci-Fi Club appealing with their self-created and propagated set of in-jokes and traditions.
Academic text (2014) -
At the reunion, we shared many laughs over our old in-jokes that only the group understood.
How Widespread
Surface Forms
Etymology
In-joke comes from the parts in, meaning 'inside' or 'within a group', and joke, a funny story. So an in-joke is a joke you only understand if you are 'in' the group, which is why people outside the group often do not get it.